Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:41

"(Those who, if We establish them in the land, perform the prayer, give the zakah, enjoin what is right, and forbid what is wrong)." This is a description of those who were driven out [of their homes]. It is [grammatically] disconnected, or it may be an appositive. "Establishment" (tamkin) means authority and the power to enforce commands. By "the land," the genus is intended, though it has been said it refers specifically to Mecca. By "prayer," the obligatory prayer is intended; by "zakah," the obligatory alms; by "what is right," monotheism; and by "what is wrong," polytheism, according to what has been narrated from Zayd ibn Aslam.

Perhaps it is more appropriate regarding the latter two [right and wrong] to treat them as general. This description, as stated, is—as narrated from Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him—a "praise before the trial," meaning that Allah praised them for the good they would initiate. Scholars have said: This contains evidence for the validity of the command of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, may Allah be pleased with them. This is because, as stated in al-Kashf, the verse is specific to the Emigrants (Muhajirun), for they are the ones who were driven out unjustly, and among them, those established in the land were the Caliphs, not others. Had the subsequent attributes not been established [in them], it would necessitate a breach of promise in the speech—Exalted is Allah, the Glorified, far above that—as it indicates that for every one of them who is established, the subsequent actions are obligatory upon him due to the generality of the wording. Since the establishment did indeed take place, the inference is complete without regard to the conditional requiring the occurrence [of the result], unlike speech coupled with "perhaps" (la‘alla) or "might" (‘asa) used by the great ones, for the necessity of the consequent is an inevitable requirement of the wording. Since the antecedent occurred, its consequent necessarily occurred as well. In the establishment of the consequent is the absolute establishment of the legitimacy of the Caliphate. The verse comes in the plural form, which contradicts limiting it to Ali alone—may Allah be pleased with him and with them.

According to al-Hasan and Abu al-‘Aliyah, they are the community of Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. In this view, it is better to treat the relative pronoun as an appositive to His saying, "whoever helps Him," as al-Zajjaj parsed it. The same is said regarding what is narrated from Ibn Abbas: that they are the Emigrants, the Helpers, and the Followers, and what is narrated from Abu Najih: that they are the rulers. You know that the context requires only the first [interpretation].

"(And to Allah) exclusively (belongs the outcome of all matters)." For their return is only to the judgment and decree of Allah, the Exalted. In this is a confirmation of the promise to elevate His word and manifest His allies.